1. Field of Art
The present invention relates to sending notifications related to broadcast streams to users via networking services such as social networking services.
2. Description of the Field of Art
With the advent to personalized broadcasting, Internet users have come to broadcast various personalized media items such as video streams and audio streams over Internet. Currently, many technology platforms allow an Internet user to broadcast media items and broadcast streams to other Internet users without expensive software or hardware. The audio or video streams broadcasted over Internet range from full-fledged commercial broadcasting to personal lifecasting that involves broadcasting of one's life.
Although some broadcast streams (e.g., commercial broadcasting) may be carefully planned or scheduled in advance, other broadcast streams (e.g., lifecasting) may be extemporaneous and random. Such extemporaneous broadcast streams may start without any prior notifications or scheduling. Hence, potential viewers or listeners may miss the extemporaneous or random broadcasting unless notifications are provided. Even for prescheduled broadcast streams, potential viewers or listeners may want to receive reminders about on-air times of the broadcast streams to make sure that they do not miss the broadcast streams. Providing notifications may be a powerful tool in increasing viewers or listeners to a broadcast stream.
Various communication mechanisms may be used to send notifications to potential viewers or listeners of the broadcast streams. Example communication channels include, among other, emails, instant messages, short message service (SMS) messages and interactive voice responses (IVR) sent over phone calls. Because it is uncertain which communication mechanisms are available to the potential viewers or listeners at a certain time, notifications may need to be sent over targeted communication channels to potential viewers or listeners to increase the likelihood that the potential viewers or listeners can tune into the broadcast streams.